The Secret Between Nocie
by TDI Charlie Brown
Summary: Staci has moved into Noah's apartment building. As expected, she annoys him and his friends with her nonstop talking and lying. But a secret Noah finds out about her changes everything. Noah/Staci friendship. For Kazikamekaz24.


**A/N – So here is kazikamekaz24's prize fan fiction for winning the Codette fan fiction contest! If you still haven't read his story "The Gift From A Game Of Cards", then I strongly urge you all to do so right now! **

**Plot – Set seven years after Revenge of the Island. Noah has moved into an apartment complex with his wife Katie. One day, a new neighbor moves in and lives on the same floor as Noah. This young lady Noah immediately recognizes from the fourth season as the endless blabbermouth known as Staci. Against his will, Katie invites her over for coffee and, just as he predicted, her habits of endless chatter return and almost drive Noah insane. But, as the night progresses, Noah learns something about Staci he never would have guessed to be true. What is it? Read to find out! **

**Pairings – Noah/Katie; Cody/Courtney (minor)**

**Warning – Rated T for minor references to sex. But no sex scenes are present in the story. **

**Chapter Only – Who Would Have Guessed? **

Noah grumbled as he pulled his car into the apartment complex parking lot. It had been a tough day at the office and his clients were giving him trouble about his rates.

'If you don't like them, learn to do your own taxes you shmucks,' he grumbled to himself as he grabbed his briefcase and got out of his car.

He took a deep breath of the city air, which almost choked him, and grumbled even more. 'Great. A list of ungrateful clients that want free stuff and lungs filled to maximum capacity with polluted air. Can this day get any better?' He mentally smacked himself for thinking the forbidden question, but it was too late. At that exact moment, a pigeon flying overhead had relieved itself and the waste products laded directly on Noah's shoulders.

"Oh lovely," Noah sighed. Without even seeming fazed, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a paper towel to wipe the foul smelling contents off his jacket. Without another word, he made his way into the apartment building aka his home.

The elevator went up to the fifth floor and let Noah off. Now all Noah wanted to do was go inside his room, see his beautiful wife, eat a hot meal, and read a good book. The mental image of doing just that was the first thing that put a smile on his face all day. But these thoughts were soon interrupted when he saw a bundle of baggage laying outside the door right across from his door.

'Well, well. It looks like someone decided to rent that room after all,' he chuckled. 'I'll bet anything the manager didn't tell the poor sap that the room used to be owned by that cross-dressing transvestite Rikki. Well, anything's an improvement over him. I wonder who moved in.'

Letting curiosity get the best of him, Noah peaked his head inside the room and tried to get a glance of his new neighbors. Maybe they were former playboy models...yeah, Katie would kill him if she caught him thinking like that. Maybe it was a young married couple like him and Katie or Cody and Courtney, who also lived in the same building one floor down. Could it be possible that it was another former contestant he knew? It would be nice if it was Owen. Or Eva. Just not Duncan or Justin.

His thoughts were once more interrupted when he heard what sounded like two men arguing with a woman inside the bedroom.

"Good night lady! Can't you just accept the fact that we're here to help you and not listen to you tell us how much better a job your fourth cousin could do?" one man growled.

"Yeah! If you like his work that much better, give HIM a call!" the other added. "We're outta here!"

Just then, the two moving men stormed out of the apartment room in a huff and made their way to the elevators.

"Fine! Go ahead!" the female voice called back from inside. "My fourth cousin could have moved me in twice as fast as you guys ever could! In fact, whenever people ask me for a recommendation for moving men, I'll recommend him and not you two! After all, you guys probably don't have moving men in your family lineage like I do!"

It was then Noah froze with pure terror. He knew by the tone of that voice and the way that she could speak without taking a breath exactly who had moved into the apartment.

'Oh dear Lord in heaven,' he shivered. 'I take back what I said earlier...I miss Rikki.'

He quietly made his way to his apartment room for fear that she would see him and try to start up a conversation...or rather, as close to a conversation one could have with this woman without it being one-sided.

He had made it to his door. He quietly reached for the doorknob and carefully turned it so as to not make a sound. He was just about to open his door when...

"OH MY GOSH! NOAH! IT'S YOU!"

Noah cringed. He was too late. He slowly turned around to face the individual he had been trying to avoid the whole time: Staci.

Indeed, Staci was one that many people would like to say they never met. As her time on the fourth season of Total Drama had proven, she tended to be somewhat of a chatter box. There seemed to be no end to her tales she loved to share with other people about her alleged ancestors and the numerous amazing things that they did to contribute to the development of mankind. Whether these facts she shared were true or not, no one knew or cared. They only knew that she talked too much.

Noah knew all of this not only because he had watched the fourth season of Total Drama, but also because he had experienced it first hand. At the end of that season, the producers had hosted a party for all contestants that had participated in the Total Drama games. During the party, all Staci did was talk. And when she was done talking, she started to blabber. And when she was done blabbering, she went back to talking.

But, fast forward to present day, here was the chatter box once again as his new neighbor. There was no way to avoid it. It was just him and her in the hallway. No way he could pretend he didn't hear her. He groaned and then put on his best smile before turning around.

"Hey...Staci...what a pleasant surprise," he lied.

"Oh my gosh! I spoke with Katie earlier before the movers got here. She told me you two are doing well. She also told me that you were into the tax business now. Good for you! But if you ever need any advice on tax preparation, you can talk to my great uncle Thornton! He owns seven tax offices in my hometown alone and they're, like, the most prosperous and successful tax franchise in the area. Yeah! But it's really no surprise that he's so successful at it. After all, my great, great, great, great, great grandfather Beryl was one of the first individuals to ever open up the very first tax preparation company ever. In fact, a lot of tax preparation companies like H&R Block and Liberty Tax owe their gratitude to him for inventing the concept. Exciting, huh?"

Noah just smiled uncomfortably as Staci continued to talk about her ancestry. But deep inside, he wanted to pull his ears off. This was clearly the last thing he wanted to do today after a rough day at the office.

"Oh! Goodness! Look at me," Staci laughed. "Standing out here talking while you're dying to see your wife. And meanwhile, I've got unpacking to do! But it's too bad my fourth cousin Billy isn't here to help me unpack. He's been in the moving business for eight years now and he's been declared one of the best movers in the world today. Satisfaction guaranteed, you know. But of course, that's only because it's in his blood and..."

At this point, Noah had to work very hard to mentally block out her voice while pretending he was somewhat interested in what Staci had to say.

"...so yeah, interesting, right?" She finally concluded.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah!" Noah lied all while fake smiling.

"Yeah! So I guess I'd better finish moving in, huh? Anyways, I'll have plenty of time to see you and Katie tonight!"

"Yeah, I...wait, what?"

"Oops! It was supposed to be a surprise...but the cat's out of the bag now! I invited you and Katie over to my apartment tonight for coffee! I mean, we've all got so much catching up to do!"

Noah's smile immediately disappeared and his eyes went wide with horror. 'A whole evening...listening...to Staci...' he shuddered.

"Umm...tonight, you say? Uh...oh darn! I'd love to Staci, but Katie and I have other plans with Cody and Courtney tonight," Noah quickly fibbed.

"Oh, don't worry about it! I already spoke with Katie and she said that she'd invite Cody and Courtney up to my room for the night!"

"...perfect..." Noah grumbled.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun! It'll be like a party! And my family has a long line of party-planners in it! For instance, my great, great uncle Brandon was the first person in Canada to orchestrate a wedding party! Before that, people just went through with the ceremony and went home immediately afterwards. And before him, my great, great, great..."

Noah didn't stick around to hear the rest of Staci's story. He went into his apartment and slammed the door shut behind him. The way he figured it, if he was going to put up with this later in the evening, he wasn't about to put up with it now.

He took his jacket off and hing it on the coat rack by the door and made his way to the kitchen, where Katie was just taking the kettle off the stove and pouring two cups of tea.

"Hiya sweetie," she greeted her husband. She then brought him his tea at the table, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then brought her own cup over.

Noah smiled at his wife lovingly as he took a sip from his tea. But the smile soon faded when he was obliged to ask her about their new neighbor.

"Katie, I'm just going to ask you straight forward: did you tell that Staci girl next door that we would go over to her apartment tonight to visit?"

Katie sighed. She knew Noah wouldn't like the idea. She could tell he didn't just by the tone in his voice. She sipped her tea again and turned her attention to her husband.

"Okay, I know you're not wild about the idea Noah. But she's new to the building! We've got to make her feel welcome here."

"Oh, but what if I don't WANT her to feel welcome?"

"Noah! That's not the same man I married three years ago! The Noah I married was much more sympathetic towards his neighbors."

"Welcome to the new Noah honey," Noah immediately retorted.

"And what, pray tell, is this 'new' Noah like?"

"Well, he's an individual that doesn't want that motor mouth living in the same apartment building as him!"

Katie just rubbed her forehead as she continued to sip her tea. One thing about Noah that had never changed, no matter how much she and Sadie worked on him, was his unwillingness to do something that he didn't want to do. Once he made up his mind about something, he stuck to it and didn't back down. She thought long and hard. What would motivate Noah to do the right thing as opposed to what made him happy.

"Listen," Katie sweetly sang, "we're not going to be the only one's there tonight. I'm sure Staci told you that Courtney and Cody are coming too."

"Katie, if I had stuck around any longer, she probably would have told me the alleged whereabouts of the lost city of Atlantis and how her ancestors were the ones that first resided there and moved elsewhere before it was lost."

"I know you're not very fond of her ramblings, sweetie. But we have to do the right thing. Courtney had the exact same talk with Cody earlier. Just like you, he didn't want to do it. But eventually, he realized that Staci is a human being too and she needs social interaction just like the rest of us."

"Staci doesn't need social interaction," Noah replied as he sipped the contents of his cup. "She does quite enough interacting for everyone.

Katie grumbled. Getting Noah to agree to this was going to be tougher than she thought. She decided it was time to pull out her trump card. She put on her best seductive face.

"Noah Baby," she purred as she rubber her hand gently across the back of his neck. "Mama has a deal she wants to make with you."

Noah's eyes widened as his skin began to crawl.

"Katie...don't you dare," he begged.

"Aw, doesn't Noah Baby want to hear the special offer mama has for him?" Katie continued purring as her hand moved down his back.

"Katie! That's cheating! Stop it!"

But Katie wasn't going to let up. She had him right where she wanted him.

"If Noah Baby does this one, little, tiny, effortless task tonight...mama's going to make sure bed time tonight is special for him...VERY special..."

By now, her mouth was right by Noah's ears and she could sense that he was right about to crack. Not even Noah could resist a deal like that. Especially when she called him 'Noah Baby', which she only did when she was going to make bed time special for him.

As predicted, Noah submitted.

"Special bed time...works every time," he grumbled. "When did you change from that air headed girl that shared a brain with Sadie back on the island?"

"Oh, I think my brain has matured a lot since then," she argued, sounding somewhat insulted. "And besides, being married to you has made me exercise my smarts since then."

"You've exercised them too much if you ask me. You know just how to outsmart me!"

"I know," she replied with a cute smile. She then kissed him on the cheek. "We're to be at Staci's in three hours, so you've got a little time to relax."

_**(Three hours later) **_

Noah and Katie were waiting by the stairs for Cody and Courtney to come up. They had changed into casual clothing and had brewed some tea for the occasion.

"Just remember, I'm holding you to your promise for 'Special Bed Time' tonight," Noah whispered to his wife.

"Noah! Shush! Not in public!"

Just the, Courtney and Cody came up the stairs and met with Katie and Noah. Courtney and Katie greeted each other as did Noah and Cody. The later had a somewhat goofy smile on his face and his eyes almost seemed to roll around in his head.

"Um...do I dare ask what's the matter with you?" Noah asked.

"Um...it's nothing, really," Cody replied.

"You know I can read you like a book, right? And from what I'm reading, you're lying."

Cody blushed and giggled slightly. "Well, it's kind of private...but...well...let's just say that I didn't want to come up here tonight and...well...Courtney made an offer I couldn't refuse."

"I knew it!" Noah sneered. "She gave you 'Special Bed Time' before the visit, didn't she? Why didn't I have Katie do that?"

"What are you two talking about?" Courtney asked, her eyebrow quirked.

"Halo!" both boys immediately replied.

Katie and Courtney conitnued to stare questioningly at the boys for a minute or two. Thankfully for the boys, Halo WAS a popular topic of discussion. So the girls bought it and decided that they should head over to Staci's. To this, both boys groaned as quietly to one another as they could. This...was going to hurt.

_**(Fifteen Minutes Later) **_

"...and my great, great, great grandfather AJ was one of the first lawyers to ever take up a case in North America. In fact, Atticus Finch from "To Kill A Mockingbird" was inspired by him. Amazing, isn't it? Not that your accomplishments as a lawyer aren't something to be proud of Courtney, mind you. I mean, you're only twenty-three years old and you've already been hired by one of the biggest law firms in Canada! Oh! That reminds me of my third cousin Harrison! He's the owner of a major international law firm! He has offices set up in Canada, United States, Mexico, and other parts of the world where lawyers are allowed. He only hires the best and makes sure they know all the laws so that they can be successful. Neat, huh?" **(A/N – I don't know how laws in other countries work of if there are lawyers allowed or not. But it's Staci talking so I'm allowed to make up random stuff).**

All four of Staci's guests nodded their heads involuntarily. During the fifteen minutes of their visit, the four of them had a combined two minutes of talking put into the conversation. Courtney massaged her temples as she tried to keep her temper in check. Thankfully being married to Cody had helped her cause during the years. Normally, Katie was used to a lot of chatter. She and Sadie did a lot of it in the day. But this...was a whole new level. Cody had managed to block her out by reminiscing on the moments of pleasure he had endured an hour ago by Courtney. But even then, he seemed to show signs on drifting off as Courtney had to nudge him to get his attention back.

Noah on the other hand just sat there, looking bored. He had seen this coming and was doing all he could to keep a massive headache from coming on. For whatever reason, this did not surprise him one little bit.

"...by the way, I love this tea you brought!" Staci continued. "Did you know that my great, great, great, great uncle Ryan was one of the first people in the world to discover tea? Yeah, when he and some friends were in the wild west, they came across some Mexicans crossing boarder. The Mexicans had some tea leaves with them and in exchange for fresh water, they showed him how to use the leaves to make herbal tea for relaxation and flavor. Interesting, isn't it?"

'There isn't enough tea in the world to relax me right now,' Noah grumbled to himself.

"Um, Staci. Pardon me for interrupting. But is it okay if I use your bathroom for a minute?"

"Oh, go right ahead Noah! It's just down the hall. Hey! Speaking of bathrooms, did I ever tell you guys that my great, great, great, great, great, great..."

Noah made it to the bathroom and shut the door tight. He took a deep breath turned the faucet on. He then proceeded to splashed some cool water on his face. He would stay in the bathroom for two straight minutes to try and recollect himself.

'Okay Noah. You can do this,' he told himself. 'Eyes on the prize. Once this is said and done, 'Special Bed Time' with Katie. That'll be worth the price of admission alone. It's just in...three...more...hours...oh God, what have I agreed to?'

Taking another deep breath, Noah stumbled out of the bathroom and began to make his way back to the living room. On his way, he had to pass through the kitchen. He noticed that some boxes weren't unpacked yet and had some books in them. One book in particular caught Noah's attention: Ancestry of Donald Family.

Noah knew he really shouldn't read something as personal as this, but with all the tales Staci had been telling about her alleged family, he couldn't help but wonder whether the stuff she said was true or if they were, as he believed, tall tales to try and impress other people into thinking she was something special. He submitted to his curiosity and reached for the book.

Upon careful observation, Noah could tell that the genealogy book was legit. He then proceeded to open it and learn about the real family of one Staci. On the first page, he saw that she had found herself in the book. She did have two siblings, though judging by the book, they were too young to have a lot of information written about them. Her parents, on the other hand, had some detailed reports about their lives. For example, her mother was really a doctor's assistant and hadn't invented new methods of treatment in the medical field. In fact, she would be lucky to be called a secretary judging from her responsibilities. And her father was just a salesman. A vacuum cleaner salesman.

'So much for the family that changed the world as we know it,' Noah chuckled.

He would have put the book down right there, but something inside told him to keep going. So he did. He flipped through the pages until he reached the end of the book, where the earliest documented records of Staci's family were.

'Oh, this ought to be good,' Noah grinned. 'I can't wait to see what 'life-changing' ideas her ancestors came up with back in the late 1500's. I'll bet that the most successful of her ancestors was a shoe maker. Or a goat herder. Or...or...woah...no way...this has to be a typo! It can't be! It just...is this book really legit? It IS! But that means...oh, no way!'

Noah's eyes had bulged greatly. Never in his life did he expect Staci of all people to be a descendant of HIM! Records of this man were VERY hard to find. And here, Noah was holding onto a legit record of his lineage and at the very end of it all was Staci. It just didn't seem real. But it was.

"Staci...is a descendant...of William Shakespeare," Noah whispered.

"Noah?"

Noah jumped when he heard Staci's voice at the kitchen door. He turned around to see the round girl staring at him in disbelief.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Noah stammered for a minute. But it was quite obvious what he was doing. So there was no point in hiding it now. And besides, he had a better question.

"Staci...of all the things you've said about your family...the lies you've said about your family...why haven't you told us that you're a descendant of..."

Staci rushed up to him and quickly covered his mouth. She turned around real quickly to make sure no one else was listening in on them. She then tugged Noah into the far corner of the kitchen and snatched the book out of his hand.

"You know, you have no right to be reading this," she snarled.

"I know! I know! And I apologize for that! But you're not answering my biggest question here."

"It's none of your business," she snapped.

"Yes, you're right. It's not," Noah replied. "BUT, let's be honest here for once Staci. Every you've been telling us about your so called family is a lie. Meanwhile, you've got one of the greatest minds of literature throughout all time as your ancestor and that's the one you've been keeping from us the whole time! One would think if someone was going to brag about their family, that would be the first thing one would mention."

Staci just turned away from Noah. She seemed rather upset.

"So what I want to know is...why are you telling us all these lies about your family when you're really related to the author of some of the world's most famous plays? Poems? Sonnets? Don't you think that would impress people enough?"

Staci took a deep breath before turning around and sternly stating the truth for once.

"Because...I DON'T want people to know, okay?"

Noah was baffled. If he was a descendant of William Shakespeare, he would be bragging about it every day throughout his entire life. But a real descendant standing before him was admitting that she was trying to keep it a secret.

"I know what you're thinking right now: why? 'Why would she want to keep something like this to herself?'."

"Well...duh," Noah replied.

"Think about it!" Staci snapped. "People always surrounding you and following you as if you were some kind of God. Scholars always trying to get you to come in for an interview all so they can say they've talked to a descendant of one of the greatest writers of all time! Shakespeare fans hounding you for autographs! Pictures! Your hair! All so they can say they touched someone that has the blood of their beloved writer flowing through her veins! Do you realize how horrifying that sounds to me?"

Noah was silent. Not because Staci was talking. But because she had finally said something that was actually making him think about a scenario for a change.

"My life would be ruined if the world ever found out!" she continued. "No peace! No time to myself! Always being harassed! God, I can't STAND the thought of it!"

Noah hung his head in shame. He felt horrible now. The amazing, yet dark secret Staci had been trying to hide from the world was out all because he couldn't keep his nose out of her business.

"Anyways...that's why I make up all these lies about my real family," Staci continued. "That way, if anyone ever did find out about Williams Shakespeare being my ancestor and decided to tell the world, I could just tell them these bogus stories so that they would think I'm just some impulsive liar that doesn't know when to shut up. I'm just trying to protect my identity, that's all. But of course...now that you've found this book, I guess there's no hiding it from you now, is there?"

Staci almost sounded mad, which made Noah feel even worse.

"Staci...listen," Noah began. "I'm sorry for snooping. It really was inconsiderate of me and all. And even though this is, like, the most AMAZING thing I've ever discovered in my life...I...I promise that I'll keep it a secret. Your personal life won't be interfered with on account of my selfish behavior."

"Yeah...right," Staci grumbled.

"No! I swear! As a big fan of the master of literature himself, I won't dishonor his lineage or his name by betraying one of his own blood. I promise you that I'll protect your identity and that I won't tell the world your personal...yet AWESOME secret! I mean, I can't believe I've been sitting in the same room as...as..."

Noah trailed off as Staci stared at him with her arms folded. Looking at how excited he was over this fact, he could see why Staci wouldn't want anyone knowing this about her.

"...Sorry..."

Staci took a deep breath and then smiled at Noah.

"Aw, it's okay," she smiled. "And I believe you'll keep it a secret too. In fact, just between the two of us, I'm glad my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, grandfather William has such a loyal fan like you."

"Well, I'm honored to have his great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great granddaughter Staci as my neighbor," Noah smiled as he bowed politely to her.

Staci giggled and returned the bow.

"So...you're not going to tell Katie I looked in this book, are you? Please don't or else I might not get 'Special Bed Time'," Noah whimpered.

"No, I won't tell," Staci replied. "But only because that'll mean she and the others will want to see it too. Between the two of us, you know you don't deserve it."

"Wow...talking about my love life with the descendant of William Shakespeare...how uncomfortable is this?"

They shared a small laugh and returned to the living room before the other could get suspicious.

_**(Three hours later) **_

"Well, good night everyone," Staci waved to everyone as they headed for their rooms.

"Oh, goodness," Courtney groaned once she and Cody were out of hearing range. "The things one must go through to be a good neighbor."

"You said it," he whispered back. "Just for that, I think once we get back, you and I should..."

"Cody! I'm not in the mood!" Courtney snapped back, causing the tech geek to whimper slightly.

Meanwhile, Katie and Noah were outside their door. Katie looked like she had a massive headache, but Noah wasn't about to let that keep her from delivering on her promise.

"Ibuprofen and then straight into the night dress that I love so much!" he ordered. He was as excited as a child on Christmas morning.

"Well...I'm glad to see YOU'RE so energetic," she replied back. "I thought the last thing you would want after listening to Staci all night would be 'Special Bed Time'."

"Well, even though she tells some pretty tall tales and doesn't know when to give it a rest, one has to admire her vivid imagination," Noah replied.

"Yes," Katie admitted. "I have to admit: she certainly knows how to come up with good stories on the spot."

"Right? I mean, one would almost assume that it was in her blood. In fact...if you ask me, she should write these stories down and make a book out of them. I'm sure she could do it."

Katie paused for a minute, taking in what Noah had just said. The more she thought about it, the more she could see Staci doing something like that. Why, she had no idea.

Before going into their room, Noah turned around one more time and saw Staci standing at her door looking at him. She gave him a friendly wink, to which Noah gladly returned. She then went back into her apartment and locked the doors.

'You know,' he though to himself. 'Having her as a neighbor won't be so bad after all.'

He didn't think too ling on this though. After all, 'Special Bed Time' was waiting for him.

_**END**_

**A/N – There you go Kazikamekaz24! I hope you liked it! And congratulations again! I admit, it was nice to write Staci in a positive way for a change. I tried to think of a secret that would make Staci talk and lie as much as she does. And this one...well, it seemed fitting. Especially since Noah is the other main character. I hope you don't mind the small references to sex (if you do, I apologize). Anyways, congratulations again and I hope you liked it! **


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